Heel.



0. T. HUTCHISON.

HEEL.

7 APPLICATION man MAR. 25. 1912.

Patented 00$. 26, 1915.

OB-VILLE '1. HUTCHISON, 0F WAGON MOUND, NEW MEXICO.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Unit. 26, 1915.

Application filed March 25, 1912. Serial No. 686,021.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ORVILLE T. HUToHI- son, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wagon Mound, in the county of Mora and State of New Mexico, have invented a new and useful Heel, of which the following is a specification.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a rubber insert, adapted to be applied to the leather heel of a shoe, the construction of the rubber insert being such that it will exercise allof the useful functions of the common and well known form of rubber heel with a minimum ex penditure of rubber, the rubber insert covering approximately one-half of the superficial area of the heel of the shoe, and embracing approximately one-quarter of the cubical contents of the entire heel, thereby effecting a saving of rubber, the improved insert being positioned so as to receive practicallyall of the wear which is imposed upon the shoe, it being common and Well known that the rear portion of the heel, and ordinarily,

the rear outer corner of the heel, is subjected to most wear.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel means for reinforcing the improved rubber insert, and to increase the cushioning efliciency thereof.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and' claimed, it being understood ,that changes in the precise embodiment of tit invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 shows in perspective, a portion of a shoe, to which the device of the present invention has been applied; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1; Fig.- 3 is a bottom plan of the shoe heel, showing the rubber insert which constitutes the present invention, applied thereto; Fig. 4 is a plan, showing one side of the reinforcing element which is placed in the rubber insert; Fig. 5 is a plan showing the opposite side of the, reinforcing element; Fig. 6 is a transverse section of the. reinforcing element; Fig. 7 is a perspective of the rubber insert, detached from the shoe; and Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8*8 of Fig. 3.

the shoe.

In carrying out the invention there is provlded a rubber insert 1, embracing approximately one-half of the superficial area of the shoe heel proper, and constituting approximately one-quarter of the cubical contents of the complete heel of the shoe. In that face of the insert 1 which is disposed toward the sole of the shoe, a depression 2 is formed, the depression 2 being surrounded by a flange 3. There is a depending lug 20' upon the lower face of the insert 1, at the rear of the insert and below the depression 2. That end of the insert 1 which is disposed toward the toe of the shoe is equipped with an outstanding lip 4, spaced from the plane of the lower face of the insert. 1. Embedded in the insert 1 is a reinforcing plate 5, fashioned from metal, the plate 5 preferably being of the arcuate form shown most clearly in Figs. 4 and 5. The plate 5 is equipped along its outer periphery with a depending flange 6, provided with teeth 7, the flange 6 and the teeth 7 being embedded in the insert 1, and serving to prevent the insert from spreading laterally. Along the inner periphery of the plate 5 are fashioned the projecting lugs 8, located opposite openings 9 fashioned along the longitudinal center of the plate 5 and adapted to receive the securing elements 10 whereby the rubber'insert 1 is attached to the heel proper 11 of These securin elements are commonly nails, countersun until their heads engage the plate 5. The lugs 8 serve to replace the nail-holdin common in the art. penings 15 are fashioned in the plate 5, so that the rubber may sert to be trued up.

The forward portion of the heel proper 11 of the shoe terminates in a" depending projection 12, in the rear face of which is fashioned a recess 14, into which the lip 4 is adapted to fit. The rear face of the projection 12 of the heel proper is out upon a curve,'indicated at 16, this curve 16 conforming to the curve of a cutting element disclosed in my Patent No. 1,018,908, the forward end face of the rubber insert 1 being out upon a curve, indicated at 17. The radius of the curve 17 is longer than the radius of the curve 16.

washers which are In practical Operation, the lip 4 of the rubber insert 1 is engaged with the recess 14 in the projection 12 of the heel proper 11. Owing to the difference in the radii of curvature of the end faces 17 and 16 of the rub ber insert 1 and of the heel proper 11, respectively, the rubber insert 1 will at first touch the heel proper 11 adjacent the ends of the face 16, at the points denoted specifically by the numeral 18. The rubber insert 1 is then thrust forwardly, and held in place by the securing elements 10, the intermediate portion of the inner end face of the rubber insert 1 being compressed, so

as to fitintothe curved end face 16 ofthe heel proper 11, thus forming a tight joint between the rubber and the leather at the periphery of the heel. Owing to the fact that the mating faces 16 and 17 are curved, a lateral movement of the rubber insert 1 upon the heel proper 11 will be prevented, the rubber insert 1 being held in place more securely, by reason of the fact that the radius of the face 17 is greater than the radius of the face 16, the rubber insert 1 being compressed, to conform to the curve of the face 16. This construction further promotes the tightness of the joint between the leather and the rubber at the periphery of the heel.

' Owing to the presence of the depression 2 in the upper fncirof the rubber insert 1, and owing to the presence of the lug 20, the resiliency of the insert will be greatly increased, and this resiliency will be enhanced still further, by reason of the fact that the air within the depression 2 will have a cushioning efl'ect. v

Noting particularly Fig. 3, it will be observed that the rubber insert herein disclosed will greatly cheapen the cost of equipping a shoe heel with a yieldable insert, since approximately one-half of the superficial area of the heel proper is embraced in the rubber insert l, the rubber insert 1 constituting approximately one quarter of the entire heel. Moreover, the insert 1, although of small extent, is positioned in such a way as to receive practically all of the wear, and to afford the desired resilient support at the point where such support is needed.

The depending projection or lug 20 is an important feature of the invention, when considered in combination with the depres sion 2, these elements rendering the insert herein disclosed, far superior to others, so far as the cushioning effect is, concerned. When the insert is in use, the projection or lug 20 first comes into contact with the ground or floor, and the weight of the body of the wearer of the shoe forces the constituent material of the insert upwardly into the depression 2, the insert being reinforced about the depression 2 by the plate 5. It is to be'noted that the flange 6 extends at an acute angle to the body of the plate, and

thus prevents a lateral spreading of the insert, when the insert is compressed. Further, the acute inclination of the flange 6 permits a trimming oil of the outer, peripheral face of the insert. The distance at which the flange 6 depends below the body of the plate 5 may be varied, to suit the tastes of the manufacturer. It is to be noted that the projection or lug 20 extends to the rear edge of the insert. The cushioning ef- 5 feet produced by the lug 20 is thereby increased, since the rear edge of the insert commonly comes into contact with the ground, before any other portion of the insert. The rear edge of the insert will wear away first, beveling 0d the rear edge of the lug 20 and leaving the central, forward portion of the lug, whereby a depression of the material into the opening 2 will be secured. I will now describe the process 85 of assembling the insert herein disclosed, with the leather heel of a shoe.

The outermost lift of the leather heel is removed. The rubber insert is applied to the second lift of the leather heel, and a mark is made upon the second lift of the leather heel, alon the edge of the lip 4. The second lift 0 the leather heel is then cut away along this mark and the rubber insert is secured to the leather heel. If enough of the leather is not thus removed to accommodate the lip 4, succeeding lifts will of course be cut away. The outer lift of the leather heel is cut away upon a curve 16 the radius of which is shorter than the radius of the curved face 17 of the rubber insert, whereupon the rubber insert is compressed until the curve 16 conforms to the face 17, and the outer lift is then secured to the leather heel, to overlap the lip 4 of the rubber insert, as clearly disclosed in Fig. 8. The foregoing explanation will render clear the manner of forming the -so-called recess 14. Owing to the relatively small extent of the lift 12 of the leather heel, scraps of good stock may be employed, which otherwise would be waste.

Special attention is directed to the fact that the faces 16 and 17 are out upon diflerent radii. Owing to this construction, when 116 the rubber insert is assembled with the leather heel of the shoe, a tight joint is fashioned, as hereinbefore described, at the outer, peripheral surface of the heel. There is, therefore, no opening at the point at which the reference character 50 is applied in Fig. 1. Owing to the fact that a considerable portion of the original leather heel remains unaltered, in front of the rubber insert, the original contour of the heel of the 3 shoe is preserved.

It occasionally happens that the projection 12,- is omitted, the leather heel being cut into along the line 16 thh two or more lifts. Under such cos the lip 4 is cut ofi' along the line 17. To facilitate this cutting ofi of the lip 4, the plate 5 is terminated short of the lip 4 as shown clearly in Fig. 7.

When the device is applied to a large heel it is desirable to insert a few nails 5 through the projection 12 into the-lip 4 to aid in preventing the rubber insert from being forced rearwardly off the leather heel.

Having thus described. the invention,what

is claimed is A rubber 'heel insert, provided in its top with a recess extended but part way through the insert to form an air chamber, the insert being provided at its rear with a depending lug which projects downwardly below the lower, ground engaging face of the insert, the forward edge of the lug beingldcated intermediate the front and rear walls of the recess to define a relatively thin portion in the insert between the forward edge of the lug and the front wall of the recess and adapted to yield when the lugis under pressure, thereby to effect a compression of the air in the chamber.

In testimony that l claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ORVILLE T. HUTCHISON. Witnesses:

J.. J. VILLIs, Jr.,

D. B. TUXEN.

till 

